15 minutes! That is the amount of time that current POTUS Donald Trump boasted would take to solve the whole situation while alluding to the merger. But it appears that the President will have to recalculate the figures he dished out. The reason? Well, you can thank the current CEO of DP World Tour for that. Guy Kinnings’ recent comments on the sport, coupled with Rory McIlroy’s denial of there being any finalized agreement does spell bad news for the merger.
“I understand that impatience and we have to be mindful of our fans, who have been brilliant,” said the DP World Tour executive in an interview with BBC. He then went ahead to comment on the current situation of the sport while pointing out the need to work on it. “Golf is in such good health but we have to work on this product,” highlighted Kinnings. “It is complicated, not as easy as everyone thinks.”
Unfortunately enough, the DP World Tour CEO’s comments do make it seem as if the merger will take more time. Couple his remarks with McIlroy’s recent interview downplaying the positive rumors, and you can’t help but wonder if it is going to happen anytime soon. Ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links, the Northern Irishman had gone to deny the finalization of any deal between the PGA Tour and PIF.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
What was that all about? Well, over the past couple of weeks, there were reports that a final deal had been reached between the two entities with the Public Investment Fund poised to invest $1.3 billion in the PGA Tour. But Rory McIlroy was quick to deny it. “It’s the first that I’ve heard of it,” said the 35-year-old.
“I know Jay [Monahan] was in Saudi Arabia last week at the FII and was having some meetings,” added the PGA Tour Pro before pointing out how he would have heard of it if there was any development. “He’s briefing the transaction committee tonight, so maybe some news comes out of that. But as far as I’m aware, I haven’t heard a thing.”
It appears like the merger will take quite a bit of time if you put all the pieces, including Jay Monahan’s silence on the same, together. The last piece of the puzzle would be the 2025 schedule that the DP World Tour revealed recently, thereby putting out a final verdict of sorts on the delay of the merger.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
DP World Tour reveals 2025 schedule
“We all hope there may be a different schedule in 2026 but who knows what that might be,” said Kinnings as he alluded to the calendar that the circuit dropped. “We can only focus on what we can control and that is to make the 2025 schedule as good as it can be.” Interestingly enough, it would be structured in a similar way as the 2024 calendar with ‘global swings’, a ‘back nine’, and two season-ending play-off tournaments.
The five Rolex Series events, meanwhile, will continue to be spread throughout the year as usual. Those five tournaments would be, just like the 2024 season, the ones offering the most prestige and money on the DP World Tour. The Rolex Series events will kick off with the Dubai Desert Classic in January, followed by the Scottish Open in July, the BMW PGA Championship in September, the Abu Dhabi Championship, and the DPWT Championship in November.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
Anyhow, it seems that the schedules that the DP World Tour revealed recently in addition to the same being done by LIV Golf for their 2025 season do hint at the merger not happening anytime soon. Then when will it happen? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, the fans can only hope for the best!
DP World Tour’s ‘Good Health’ Outlook & Jay Monahan’s Silence Shrinks PGA Tour-PIF Merger Hopes
